1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to pets, animals, and livestock and, more particularly, to a method and system for providing care to pets, animals and livestock in the event an owner becomes unable to do so.
Owners in general are responsible for the care and well being of pets, animals, and livestock. As used hereinafter, the word “pet” or “pets” includes all common, unusual or exotic types of pets, as well as all animals and livestock. This care includes feeding and watering as well as spending time with their pets. It may also include providing shelter or maintenance of the shelter that is provided during the day or night. As used hereinafter, the word “owner” or “owners” includes anyone who actually owns the pet or pets or anyone who is responsible for the management and care of one or more pets. As used hereinafter, the word “subscriber” or “subscribers” refers to any owner or owners who have obtained (purchased) a membership in and thereby have the right to use at least a basic level of service of the pet care notification system and method.
In the event that something unforeseen occurs, such as an accident, injury, incapacitation or death of the owner, the pet's may go unattended for an extended period of time.
Certain types of pets require daily care or they are apt to perish. If unattended for a period of time, many pets are placed at extreme risk. All will, to one degree or another, suffer.
Pet owners often feel a great deal of love for their pets. They want their pets to be well cared for should they happen to pass before their pets pass away. As such they may even arrange for the funding of their pets through estate planning. Similarly, they may talk with and designate someone who will provide care or even take over ownership of their pets should they become incapacitated or deceased. However, the problem with all prior art solutions is one of timing. Should the pet owner suddenly become unable to provide care for their pets, or if the pet owner should suddenly pass away, it could be days until someone becomes aware of what has happened to the pet owner and who also knows that there are pets that need attending to. By then it may already be too late for the pets.
Some people carry emergency contact information in their day planner or elsewhere that may be used during times of emergency. There are several problems with this that can prevent pets from receiving the timely care that they need. First, emergency or authorized personnel may not find the emergency contact information in the person's day planner. This is likely because emergency personnel are focused with attending to the needs of the owner when the owner is in distress. In particular, emergency personnel will not be looking in obscure places for information that relates specifically to any pets the owner may have. Also, it is unlikely that the information will be periodically updated.
For information that may be placed in the person's wallet there is no way to ensure that it is current or that key people who may find it will know what to do with any information that may be in the person's wallet. Also, the purpose of such information may not be obvious to emergency personnel who may be examining the contents of the person's wallet.
If something were to happen to the person, whereby the person was unable to care for their pets, how would the pets receive the necessary care? This is something that is of concern to numerous people.
Second, if the emergency contact person's information is found by the emergency or authorized person, it may not be possible to contact the emergency person during the time of the emergency for various reasons. Also, the person's contact information may have changed from that which is recorded. In addition, no backup emergency contact person is likely to be listed.
Additionally, even if a person were to carry in his wallet (or purse) the name and phone number of one or more people who could provide temporary care for the person's pets, anyone finding that information might not realize its intent and therefore might not act after finding it. It is important to remember that the primary responsibility of emergency personnel is to provide emergency care services for the person. And in the event that emergency personnel concerned with saving the person's life were to find such information and if, in response, they made an attempt to place a call to one or more of the people who could provide the temporary care it is exceedingly unlikely that the busy emergency personnel would, in anyway, follow through with additional telephone calls to the people who could provide the temporary care if they were not reached initially. In other words, the emergency personnel would not persist in their attempt to make contact with the people who could provide the temporary care. Furthermore, if the people who could provide the temporary care declined to do so for any reason or if they could not be reached, the emergency personnel would not continue to seek alternative solutions that would help provide timely care of the person's pets.
Third, even if the emergency contact person is reached he or she may not remember that there are pets that need attending. The emergency contact person is likely, instead, to be focused on the health, condition and whereabouts of the person and how the emergency is impacting the person's job and/or family. The needs or even the existence of any pets may be completely overlooked.
Fourth, the emergency contact person may not even know that the person has any pets. The owner may never have told the emergency contact person that he or she has one or more pets. It is also possible that the owner made arrangement with the emergency contact person to provide assistance to the person and/or the person's family before the owner had any pets in which case the emergency contact person may not have any knowledge that the owner had since acquired pets that needed attending.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a pet care notification system that helps to ameliorate the above-mentioned problems and difficulties as well as ameliorate those additional problems and difficulties as may be recited in the “OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION” or discussed elsewhere in the specification or which may otherwise exist or occur and that are not specifically mentioned herein.
As various embodiments of the instant invention help provide a more elegant solution to the various problems and difficulties as mentioned herein, or which may otherwise exist or occur and are not specifically mentioned herein, and by a showing that a similar benefit is not available by mere reliance upon the teachings of relevant prior art, the instant invention attests to its novelty. Therefore, by helping to provide a more elegant solution to various needs, some of which may be long-standing in nature, the instant invention further attests that the elements thereof, in combination as claimed, cannot be obvious in light of the teachings of the prior art to a person of ordinary skill and creativity.
Clearly, a pet care notification system and method would be useful and desirable.
2. Description of Prior Art
While the structural arrangements of a notification system and method for attending to the needs of pets, animals, or livestock if an owner is unable to do so is not known, other notification systems may, at first appearance, appear to have similarities with the present invention, however they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior systems and methods.